Assemblism

2017

Assemblism was a day-long gathering in the context of BAK, basis voor actuele kunst, Utrecht’s long-term program Propositions for Non-Fascist Living. The gathering addressed the current rise of the new authoritarian world order, and the millions of bodies that have assembled in resistance in liberated autonomous zones, occupied buildings, city squares, prisons, and cultural spaces to collectively enact a different demand for egalitarian society.

In length of Judith Butler’s Towards a Performative Theory of Assembly (2015) the gathering explored what democratic cultures manifest through assemblist practices, and how such democratic cultures contribute to establish new forms of emancipatory (self-)governance. Through three consecutive blocks, titled The Pan European Assembly, Non-Human Assemblages, and After the Assembly, art workers, political representatives, and activists discussed the cultural dimensions of assemblist practices, in search of new alliances. A composition in three acts, Composing Assembly, by Maya Felixbrodt (composer and musician), Aurélie Lierman (radio artist, vocalist, and composer), and Samuel Vriezen (composer and writer) was presented throughout the gathering for the first time.

PROJECT TEAM:

COMMISSIONED BY:

BAK, basis voor actuele kunst, Utrecht (NL)

Assemblism

2017

Assemblism was a day-long gathering in the context of BAK, basis voor actuele kunst, Utrecht’s long-term program Propositions for Non-Fascist Living. The gathering addressed the current rise of the new authoritarian world order, and the millions of bodies that have assembled in resistance in liberated autonomous zones, occupied buildings, city squares, prisons, and cultural spaces to collectively enact a different demand for egalitarian society.

In length of Judith Butler’s Towards a Performative Theory of Assembly (2015) the gathering explored what democratic cultures manifest through assemblist practices, and how such democratic cultures contribute to establish new forms of emancipatory (self-)governance. Through three consecutive blocks, titled The Pan European Assembly, Non-Human Assemblages, and After the Assembly, art workers, political representatives, and activists discussed the cultural dimensions of assemblist practices, in search of new alliances. A composition in three acts, Composing Assembly, by Maya Felixbrodt (composer and musician), Aurélie Lierman (radio artist, vocalist, and composer), and Samuel Vriezen (composer and writer) was presented throughout the gathering for the first time.